J&K G20 meet marks a new era of prosperity
The upcoming G20 meet may herald a new era for Jammu and Kashmir and bolster its engagement with the international community
The third G20 tourism working group meeting to be held at Srinagar over two days from Monday will be a defining moment for Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The multilateral G20 meet will provide an occasion to J&K to host and engage with the international community, and also offer a window to the world to see this nature’s bowl and a land of opportunities through the experiences of visiting G20 delegates when they return to their respective countries. The mist around J&K formed through unrelenting peddling of misinformation will also settle down eventually.
The transcending history of J&K demonstrates the unimaginable outcomes visionary and committed leadership, in conjunction with mass effort, can deliver. Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s decision to select the Union Territory as a venue for the crucial global meet, ignoring opposition from some international quarters, reflects a confidence change. The Union Territory of J&K, as far as I remember, has never hosted any multilateral meet of this sort in the recent past.
India, under the leadership of PM Modi, has shown it’s willing to take a tough stand against interference by any foreign nation or nations in its domestic affairs. We want peace but not at the cost of our unity and integrity. I would not like to drag here futile attempts to manufacture a diplomatic row by a few. Still, the move to disrupt the G20 meeting does not surprise us. The acceptance of Srinagar as a venue for the meeting by G20 countries – representing 20 of the biggest economies which together carry out 75% of global trade, hold 80% of the global GDP and represent 60% of the global population – is a setback to adversaries.
The people of J&K are looking for development and their share in the socio-economic transformation slowly enveloping the Union Territory. The change in J&K is irreversible. This is not only because we in the administration are committed to confronting untouched challenges, and don’t shy away from out-of-the-box solutions for the welfare of the people, but also because the people of J&K have smelt the aroma of functional democracy. They dread the mere thought of the past striking back. And that’s defining and motivating for us.
Terrorists from across the border have lost local support. Strengthening of grassroots democracy through successful panchayat and urban local bodies elections, and responsive delivery mechanism, have nurtured hope for a sustained relationship between the people and the administration, which I think, is the harbinger of a new social order.
J&K now wears the crown of Incredible India. Tourism drives the economy that aggregates associated industries such as hospitality and brings jobs. It trickles into people’s earnings and improves their standards of living. The declaration of tourism in J&K as an industry, along with accompanying factors, is attracting massive investment. After a long pause of almost four decades, we have revived the relationship with Bollywood and launched a film policy in 2021 to attract more investment, and to make J&K the most popular film shooting destination. Last year alone, more than 300 movies were filmed in the region, which is a sign of peace and prosperity.
Tourism contributed 7% to the region’s Gross Domestic Product last fiscal. About 18.8 million tourists visited J&K last year, and much of it is due to the improved law and order situation and people-friendly policies. We partner with, rather than dictate to, people in the tourism sector through our policy initiatives such as homestays and 300 new destinations to ensure that visitors go beyond age-old venues to explore the unexplored Elysian beauty J&K offers. In the process, more local communities get enriched and empowered.
The PM has reshaped the policy that enables all sections of society to actively participate in J&K’s growth, and gains are more equitably distributed to bring qualitative change in the life of people. The youth bulge no longer finds destructive rhetoric attractive. Young men and women with big dreams are now more ambitious, more aware and working hard to realise their aspirations. Transparent and accountable governance has brought transformational change in the speed and scale of project execution. Our speed to complete the project has gone up by 10 times. In 2018, 9229 projects were completed whereas 92,560 projects were completed in FY 2022-23. In the last four years, we have registered 770,000 new entrepreneurs through self-employment schemes, which mean that around 527 young people started their entrepreneurial journey per day. These figures are impressive but they do not fully capture the quiet transformation that is taking place at the level of women-led enterprises in the villages. More than 600,000 women entrepreneurs, through self help groups, are reaching global scales in quality and output.
Recruitment in government jobs is happening only on merit and through transparent ways, to get rid of the culture of backdoor appointments that were the norm during previous regimes. Since 2019, more than 28,467 appointments have been made. Further, out of 12,000 vacancies identified in 2023, 6,000 are under process for referral. In a very short span of time, we are advancing towards building a digital society. We are offering more than 450 public services online.
The G20 meet will lend fresh energy and enthusiasm to work towards a new J&K that is ancient in its wisdom, modern in its growth, and rich in its diversities. G20 is a tribute to the people’s willingness to come out of the trap of violence engineered by an immediate neighbour. The G20 meeting is also a symbol of a resurgent India.
Manoj Sinha is lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The views expressed are personal